Ironhide: Reboot
by Litahatchee
Summary: DOTM Movieverse: SPOILER ALERT! As Ratchet tries to come to terms with the loss of their greatest warrior, Chromia's denial is too deep to ignore. "I told you he was still alive."
1. Denial

**Disclaimer**: All Transformers characters, settings, etc. are the property of Hasbro and any other respective owners. Any original characters and the plot are the intellectual property of Litahatchee/ Letohatchee. No part of the story, ideas, or OC's are to be used without the express permission of Litahatchee/ Letohatchee. Litahatchee/ Letohatchee is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note**: THIS FIC CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON. Don't read any further if you don't want spoilers.

I never thought I'd write a resurrection fic. Some are just too hard to believe. This one may be hard to believe too, but the more I talked about it on dA, the more it seemed possible, even if it's a bit ridiculous and isn't meant to be. This was originally going to be a crack fic using the logic that the Matrix rematerialized from a pile of dust in ROTF, so why not Ironhide's rust dust pile too? It would make about as much sense as that. But, the more I joked about it, the more something actually seemed plausible, especially after having written all that stuff in "Night Fire" about sparks, bonds, and CPUs and what makes up a Cybertronian being.

LtCol Will Lennox (he has been promoted since ROTF) said in DOTM that the Matrix is the only thing that can revive a Transformer's spark. Obviously they already thought of the Matrix revival possibility and they did the rust thing because they meant for Ironhide to be truly dead, but the plot bunny had bit and I just had to get this out there.

Plus, they brought Ironhide back in IDW after what was a sure death, using the same thoughts about sparks and CPUs being separate and that both are needed along with a frame to make a whole Cybertronian. It's the same premise that a whole person is made up of mind, body, and spirit.

Anyway, I figure there may be a spark in Ironhide's remains somewhere...maybe...it could happen. There will probably be others to draw the same conclusion. It's a logical step, so this is my take on it. And look how many Jazz resurrection fics there are! Of course, bringing back Jazz now would be easier than ever, now that all they need is the Matrix. :)

I decided to use the names 'Wheeljack' and 'Mirage.' They are what is used in the book and apparently were supposed to be in the movie but they couldn't get the rights in time. I don't really like thinking of 'Que' as 'Wheeljack' and I was going to have 'Que' and did have that name for the majority of the time while writing this. However, I wrote an explanation of why his face looks like it does and it dawned on me that Wheeljack would do something like that, so I changed it back to Wheeljack. If you'd rather it be 'Que,' then try replacing the name 'Wheeljack' with 'Que' in your mind while you read.

Also, Chromia is in this fic. I don't know if she's supposed to be dead or not, but I didn't see her die in ROTF. We see Flareup get hit, but Chromia was still fighting uninjured by Ironhide's side the last time we see her in the movie. So, she's not dead in this story, which is AU, so forgive me if I have some characters wrong. I've also added Hound to the story. He and Mirage hang out a lot in most universes, so I figured he could have arrived when Mirage did.

This is just going to be a quick two chapter short story, but I hope you enjoy it. (This story is not related to "Night Fire." It is a separate story from that one.)

_Italics_ are flashbacks

Normal print is the present

Enjoy!

Ironhide: Reboot

Chapter 1

Denial

by Litahatchee

His faceplates were set in grim determination as his hands briskly scrubbed the rust away from the remains of his oldest friend. The remains were laid out anatomically on a work table. He had personally supervised the relocation of the remains himself to be sure that nothing was left out. The parts that had completely turned to dust were carefully swept up to make sure it was all saved. Even the dust was placed in its right place anatomically. Everything was where it should be.

Ratchet worked on cleaning each part that remained, removing as much rust as possible, dipping the parts in a bucket of rust solvent, and then moving on to the next part. He had started at what was left of the feet, picking out what bolts and gears remained. Nothing was salvageable, but most of what was still recognizable was in the chest area, which he scanned earlier...

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_"It's not fair," Ratchet intoned sadly after he had all the remains laid out and could see them for what they were...and weren't. _

_"War is not fair, Ratchet. It does not discriminate. You know that better than most," Optimus tried to give reassurance, but he knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he had failed at that. "Even Ironhide was not immune to it."_

_Ratchet's vents gave a sigh while his optics glanced at Optimus in irritation. He did know it better than most. Now was not the time to have it pointed out to him, though. However, his irritation melted away as quickly as it came and he sighed through his vents again._

_"But Ironhide was supposed to be indestructible." Ratchet swept his hand over the remains. "This is just hard to believe."_

_It was Optimus's turn to shunt air through his vents. Ironhide was their greatest warrior. It was going to be hard for all of them to make their CPUs come to terms with what happened. It wasn't supposed to happen this way, not to Ironhide. _

_"He _was_ indestructible," Optimus said, not giving up on the reassurance his medic desperately needed. "No Decepticon could kill him. No enemy could kill him. He was betrayed, Ratchet. He would never see that coming, not from an Autobot, and especially not from a Prime." Optimus trailed off at that. How could Sentinel do this? Optimus understood that saving their race was important, but killing some of it, the best of it, to get to that end was unacceptable. And enslaving others to do it was even worse. Optimus did not think a Prime would be capable of such treachery, but he was wrong. "None of us saw it coming..."_

_Ratchet knew what Optimus was trying to do, but it did not make him feel any better. Perhaps Optimus was trying to reassure himself too, to try to come to some sort of understanding of how this could be._

_Ratchet turned back to the remains and prepared a spark signature scan. There wasn't much hope, but he scanned the chest area anyway, looking for any signs of a spark of life. He had already checked before they moved the remains, but he wasn't leaving anything to chance. If the spark remained, perhaps..._

_Having the only thing in the universe that could revive a Cybertronian's spark had its advantages, but..._

_Ratchet could build a frame; it wasn't unheard of for Cybertronians to be reformatted and it was a fairly regular occurrence among both factions. All that was needed was a medic to transfer the spark and CPU. _

_Nothing showed up in the scan. _

_Ratchet bowed his head in defeat. There was nothing Optimus could do with the Matrix. There was nothing left; no spark, no CPU, no frame. Even if Ratchet did find a spark in this case, it would no longer be Ironhide without the memories. _

_"What about Chromia?" he nearly whispered, the thought of Ironhide leaving behind a sparkmate being almost too much to bear._

_"She and Hound are on their way back from their mission," Optimus replied. "I'll tell her myself when she arrives."_

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Ratchet was interrupted from his thoughts as someone sat down next to him. He saw the blue coloration in his peripheral vision and his spark warred with feelings of hope and sadness that Chromia finally decided to try to accept the inevitable.

When he turned his head to look at her, he saw that it was Wheeljack instead.

When it became apparent that they could salvage Wheeljack's frame, Ratchet was able to repair it for the most part. Even Wheeljack's CPU was intact. There would probably be some memory loss resulting from corrupted files, but most of it was there. With Optimus in possession of the Matrix, all that was needed was a whole mech to be able to revive.

The only thing that they lacked was a suitable spark casing. Wheeljack's old one was beyond repair. The blast that got him tore it to shreds. Ratchet could use resources on Earth to rebuild parts of his frame, but there was nothing on Earth that was strong enough to be made into a Cybertronian spark housing.

When things had settled down somewhat, the Wreckers had immediately gone to work scouring the war-ravaged city for parts to begin building a new ship. One afternoon, they showed up with their arms full of spark casings.

_"We know how hard these are to come by, Ratchet, so we saved a few for ye. Thought ye might need 'em."_

Ratchet didn't want to know how they got them, but he accepted them nonetheless. He then immediately went to work on fitting one for Wheeljack's spark.

Once Optimus revived Wheeljack, he secured the bodies of Sentinel and Megatron. The humans were not happy, but it wasn't up for negotiation. Ratchet wasn't sure what he may do, whether or not he may revive them, but Ratchet was to repair as much as possible. Both of them had extensive damage to their CPUs, though.

"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked after a moment.

"Stiff," Wheeljack replied. "And sore."

Ratchet did a quick scan to make sure his self-repair systems were still working optimally. He then smiled softly. "You'll be good as new in no time."

One of Wheeljack's optics twitched. His CPU was a little glitchy, but Ratchet wasn't sure which part of it attributed to his ordeal or if it was because Wheeljack was always a little glitchy. Ratchet again thought of Wheeljack's face. Wheeljack did it to blend in even more with the natives. For whatever reason, he felt that being able to transform into a native vehicle wasn't enough to fully 'blend in.' He thought he could fit in better if he transformed his face too. Many of the said 'natives' thought it was too creepy for his own good. As Ratchet watched him, he was inclined to agree.

Resisting the urge to tell Wheeljack that he should change his face back to the way it was, Ratchet turned back to his work.

Wheeljack watched on, his faceplates not giving away any emotion. He watched as Ratchet picked up a small bolt, the insidious rust infecting Ratchet's own fingers as he tried to scrub it away from the bolt. He dipped the part in a rust solvent, rubbing his fingers in it as well to stave off the infection.

"You know," Wheeljack began hesitantly. "When they decided to execute us, I thought they were going to use that rust cannon technology on us."

Wheeljack took in a nervous intake of air. Being near the Matrix bearer had its perks, but being rusted down to nothing made that option null.

"I was never so scared in my whole life," Wheeljack continued, his voice barely above a whisper. He motioned towards Ironhide's remains. "At least he didn't see it coming. After seeing what happened to him, I didn't think there'd be anything left of any of us to put back together. I wasn't sure if they were going to exterminate us all with it."

Ratchet paused, the weight of what Wheeljack was sharing with him falling heavily on his spark. As bad as it was for Ironhide, he couldn't help but be thankful that none of the Decepticons had possession of the weapon. There was no doubt in his mind that they would have used it if they had it.

"It looks like Sentinel reserved that just for Ironhide," Ratchet said sadly. "He knew he had to take him out quick or else he'd have had a serious fight on his hands."

Wheeljack nodded. Ironhide wasn't a warrior that many wanted to find themselves up against. A Prime would be impossible for Ironhide to defeat, but Sentinel wasn't stupid either. He wouldn't have wanted to take any chances.

Wheeljack's faceplates suddenly contorted in deep remorse. "Chromia...She..." he started.

"I know," Ratchet said, stopping him.

Chromia was in some sort of denial. She repeatedly told them that Ironhide was not gone. She even refused to see his remains, maintaining that she didn't need to see the dead remains of someone that wasn't dead. She refused to believe that the Matrix couldn't bring him back.

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_"The Matrix turned into a pile of dust and it came back. It has to be possible, Optimus. Make it happen," Chromia said._

_"I cannot make something happen that isn't meant to be," Optimus had said to her._

_"How can you say that? He is my sparkmate...It's meant to be."_

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It broke Ratchet's spark to see her so distraught. However, Chromia's state of denial was extremely unhealthy and he was afraid she was on the verge of madness.

Chromia had been on a scouting mission with Hound when the discovery of Sentinel had been made. Hound had arrived with Mirage, Wheeljack, and the Wreckers. Optimus had felt it was getting too 'crowded' with the humans trying to regulate their every move. Chromia had a ship, so he sent her and Hound out to scout habitable possibilities on nearby planets. They would never leave the new home they found in Earth and they would never stop watching over it, but having a secondary base off planet would be a nice respite from the stresses of the humans.

Optimus did not inform them about the Ark and Sentinel. He didn't want to take the chance of inadvertently alerting any Decepticons that could have been trying to hack their networks. He didn't want to take the chance of anyone finding out about Sentinel and he didn't want to take the chance of anyone founding out about Chromia and Hound's mission.

What Chromia and Hound were doing had to remain absolutely secret. In fact, she was not to contact Earth through their communications systems while they were gone. The only way they could keep the communications fully hack free was by using her and Ironhide's spark bond.

The sparkmates could communicate freely through their bond and no one would ever know. It was not possible for anyone to break into that. So, Chromia communicated with Ironhide through their bond, and Ironhide gave Optimus regular updates on their progress. Since the bond was the only communication they were using, then the contingency plan was for Chromia and Hound to return if contact through the bond ceased. As unlikely as it was that she'd lose contact with her sparkmate, they knew to cover all bases; war taught them that.

Ironhide could have told Chromia about Sentinel through their bond. He discussed doing so with Optimus, but Optimus thought it was best that she and Hound be left alone to complete their mission. Ironhide agreed, also figuring it would be a nice surprise for them when they got back. Sentinel Prime was one of their greatest leaders and having him back was nothing short of a miracle; every Autobot would be filled with joy.

Ironhide didn't tell her that the Decepticons were back either. He didn't even bother discussing that with Optimus. Knowing him, he probably thought that wasn't worth telling. He knew he could handle it. If it were just the Decepticons, he could have. But, then the unthinkable betrayal happened and everything went so fast from there...

Chromia had known something was wrong through the bond. The pain was unmistakable. When it hit her, Hound thought that Ironhide had died for sure. However, she did not think Ironhide was dead. She knew something horrible had happened, but it didn't feel like death to her. However, she could no longer contact Ironhide through their bond. They raced back to Earth as fast as her ship could carry them.

"There really is nothing left, is there?" Wheeljack said from beside Ratchet as he looked over his work.

Ratchet stopped what he was doing and sat back, defeated. He was trying to make the body more presentable for Chromia. She was going to have to come to terms with it eventually. Despite her persistent denial, Ratchet had to help her to see and try to start moving on.

With that in mind, Ratchet's determination won out over his defeat and he renewed his efforts. He decided to stop trying with the arms and legs; they were a complete loss. He moved on to the torso and resumed his work just below the area where the spark casing was.

Seeing Ratchet's determination, Wheeljack got up to get some anti-rust solution so that he could help. Even though it seemed hopeless and Ratchet wasn't in much of a talking mood, he knew Ratchet needed a friend right then, even if all he did was help scrub rust free from the remains in silence.

As Wheeljack returned with his own bucket of solution, Ratchet felt a slight charge in his fingertips. Thinking it was more rust getting at him, he dipped both hands in the solution, letting them soak a moment before he continued.

As Ratchet dug around for the next part, he felt a shock. This time, it was unmistakable. Shocked himself, he jumped slightly.

"You okay?" Wheeljack asked.

Ratchet's optics were wide as he answered, "Something shocked me."

Not wasting any time, Ratchet scanned the area where he was working..."Primus."

A very faint spark signature was detected in the scan. It was so slight that Ratchet had to check again to be sure. There was a spark of life, but it couldn't even be called a full spark. However, it was there.

Ratchet mentally berated himself while his spark skipped in hope and joy. Ironhide's spark signature was not in the right place. It had moved down a little while his parts shifted during the rust-induced decomposition. Ratchet should have known that. He should have scanned the entire pile of remains, not just the chest area.

Ratchet jumped up in his excitement. "Get Optimus!" he exclaimed to Wheeljack.

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Optimus stood patiently as Ratchet explained the possibilities of what they could do with Ironhide's spark. The signature was faint, but that's all that was needed for the Matrix to revive a spark, no matter how slight it was. At first, Optimus was just as excited as Ratchet to discover the spark of life. However, his hope slowly faded as he listened to his medic.

Ratchet had a spare spark casing for the spark, thanks to the Wreckers, and he was confident he could build a suitable frame, as long as they could get a few things that he needed. However, Ironhide's CPU was completely lost.

"We don't have a backup of his CPU files. He never allowed it," Ratchet was saying as Optimus continued to listen.

It was standard for a medic to have backup files or all his patients' memory cores, in case they were needed for the various reasons of CPU crashes, files becoming corrupted, or loss of memory during reformatting. However, Ironhide was always adamant that he didn't want anyone near his CPU to download anything.

Ratchet could put together a new CPU with the programs needed for a mech to function, but the memory chips would be blank. Essentially, they would be bringing a new mech into the world and it would not be Ironhide. Ratchet could provide the new mech with programs that would make him more advanced than a sparkling, so at least he wouldn't be a sparkling, but any memory he took on would be new from the moment he was brought online.

Optimus stopped him with a raised hand. Being the Matrix bearer and being able to revive a spark of a mech who was still whole was one thing. However, when that mech was no longer whole, there was a lot more to think about.

What would that mech want? Should they revive someone who could no longer function as he did before? Yet, a life was a life and there was still life within Ironhide's spark. Was it morally wrong to let that life fizzle out? Optimus was understandably conflicted, but he had known Ironhide better than most anyone.

"I don't think Ironhide would want to live like that," Optimus began. "Chromia might not want that either. Their bond would be intact, but he wouldn't even know why they have that connection. He'd have to relearn everything and be bonded permanently to someone he wouldn't even know. That could be unbearable for both of them."

With the mention of Ironhide's sparkmate, Ratchet paused. There was something he remembered Ironhide saying in passing one day, when Ratchet tried again to get a CPU backup.

_"Nobody can have my memories but my sparkmate," _Ironhide had said_. _

Ratchet suddenly laughed, taking Optimus completely off guard. Ironhide would understand the importance of having a backup; he just didn't want anyone to have it. Ratchet had heard of sparkmates downloading their memory cores into the CPUs of their mates from time to time. Ironhide must have done that with Chromia. It was the only being he'd entrust it to.

"Chromia has it," Ratchet explained his sudden outburst with a grin, excited that it seemed they had a real shot at bringing Ironhide back.

The cogs on the side of Optimus's head turned as he thought about it. He knew sparkmates shared their memory cores. He had thought about it with Elita on more than one occasion. However, Ratchet had a backup of his CPU files.

"Are you sure?" Optimus asked after a moment.

"Actually, I don't know for sure. It's just something I heard," Ratchet answered.

Optimus was glad that Ratchet was in a better mood, but he wanted to be absolutely certain before they committed themselves to this possibility.

"Where is Chromia now?" Optimus asked next.

"I'm right here," Chromia's voice sounded from behind them.

Both Optimus and Ratchet jumped slightly. It wasn't the fact that she was there, but the confidence in her voice was disconcerting. She did not look like someone who should be grieving.

Ratchet first thought that she finally decided to come and see Ironhide's remains, but she just seemed too...proud. He then wondered how much of the conversation she had overheard.

Ratchet got his answer in the next moment when Chromia walked straight up to him. She did not divert her gaze from Ratchet's optics. He wasn't sure if she was trying to avoid looking at Ironhide, or if it was something else. She then unsubspaced several datapads and handed them out for him to take them. As soon as he grasped hold of them, Chromia turned towards Optimus.

Ratchet accessed the datapad and gasped. It was the backup files of Ironhide's memory core that they needed.

"I told you he was still alive," Chromia all but whispered.

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	2. Doubt

(posted July 30, 2011)

**Disclaimer**: All Transformers characters, settings, etc. are the property of Hasbro and any other respective owners. Any original characters and the plot are the intellectual property of Litahatchee/ Letohatchee. No part of the story, ideas, or OC's are to be used without the express permission of Litahatchee/ Letohatchee. Litahatchee/ Letohatchee is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to all the wonderful **REVIEWERS** of ch. 1: **Bluebird Soaring, Faecat, FlowerCrazy, ChocoKoko, flamingmarsh, FunkyMonkey19, Lecidre, Flameshield, Violetlight, Shizuka Taiyou, LadyJet2, Daklog73, TransformersLover95, kitsunepilot80, gemwolfdusk, BirdBiscuit, The Fox Familiar, Tsukimine12, Night-Fury1, Bahamut PURE, **and** Sar**.

I am simply blown away by all the wonderful reviews! Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and love for my writing. Many thanks also for all the faves and alerts! I appreciate every review, fave, and alert. Thanks again!

RECOMMENDATIONS: For anyone interested in a couple of well-written Ironhide revival fics, check out "A Second Chance" by Shining Galaxy and "Patronus" by femme4jack and Merfilly. I am loving these stories!

NOTE: This is now going to be a 3 chapter story. I thought it was only going to be 2, but the next part felt like it should be its own chapter. I'm already halfway done with ch. 3, so the wait won't be as long this time. =D

_Italics_ are flashbacks.

Enjoy!

Ironhide: Reboot

Chapter 2

Doubt

by Litahatchee

Time...

It is the beginning and end of all things. It is the great equalizer. With enough passage of time, all wounds could be healed, all hurts comforted.

'Not all wounds,' Chromia thought bitterly as she rubbed her chest over her spark.

All Ratchet had said to her was that he needed time, before reminding her that the passage of time was a powerful thing.

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"_Time has the power to heal, Chromia," Ratchet had stated._

"_It also has the power to drive one mad," Chromia retorted._

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Time was not Chromia's ally. As the sun moved across the sky, marking each Earth day, Chromia became more and more impatient. She couldn't recharge. She couldn't be comforted. She was inconsolable.

She could feel echoes of Ironhide, as if he could be there or gone at any moment. One moment he was there and the next would feel like he was going. Every moment felt like that to Chromia and she didn't know how much more time she could stand. Yet, not that much time had passed at all. Every moment just felt like vorns to her.

Ironhide's spark was holding on simply because she was. If it weren't for their bond, he would have been gone for sure because there would have been no one keeping his spark present. His spark was only there because her spark was there. The only slight comfort she had was that his spark wanted to be in whatever condition her spark was in, whether that was in this life or the next didn't particularly seem to matter. However, she was determined that they stay in this life. She was not letting go, no matter what, but it was taking every ounce of her strength to do it.

She couldn't communicate with him, to ask him to help her to make him stay, nor was there any emotion that she could feel from his presence. She knew he was there, because he was just there, just existing, just being...but it was barely even that.

It wasn't that there was no emotion at all, though. She could feel a strong sense of who Ironhide was and that he very much loved her. It was just that there was so much in life that had mattered that no longer mattered. She felt that if she let go for only a moment, then he'd be gone forever. So, she spent all her time holding on and so he stayed because she'd never let go.

Chromia was becoming exhausted and impatient and every bit of confidence she had exhibited before was eroding away.

Ratchet did what he could for her, even forcing her system to shut down several times so she would get much needed rest. He did what he had to do. He knew that if she gave up, there'd be no chance of saving Ironhide at all. He made her rest and refuel even as she fought him. She blamed the passage of time on him, but there wasn't anything he could do about it and they both knew that.

When Chromia could no longer stand the sight of Ratchet, Optimus did his best to console her. She would not see anyone else. He apologized for doubting her and apologized for, well, everything. Optimus was full of apologies and she quickly tired of his presence, yet she didn't want to be left alone and she didn't want to be left with Ratchet and she knew she wouldn't be able to stand anyone else.

"Optimus, if you don't stop apologizing, I'm going to punch you. This is not your fault. There was nothing you could do, so quit blaming yourself for everything," Chromia said bitterly. "If you really want to help, find something that will speed up time."

"If I hadn't brought Sentinel back..." Optimus started to say remorsefully before pain spread across his cheek-plating. It took him an astrosecond to realize that Chromia had acted out on her promise.

Optimus wasn't standing far away from her and he was considerably taller. But, Chromia was a skilled warrior and had used several levels of the equipment lying around to quickly gain the altitude she needed to punch him squarely in the face.

"Stop it!" she seethed at him.

Optimus rubbed at his face. She didn't really hit him that hard, but it definitely got his attention. He wasn't mad, far from it. Chromia was not a femme that wanted anyone to feel sorry for her. She was also like all of his Autobots and didn't want her Prime blaming himself. None of the Autobots blamed Optimus for anything that happened during the war and all of them never wanted him to blame himself either.

"I don't know what else to do, Chromia," Optimus said after a moment.

"Just sit with me," Chromia said. "And don't say anything."

Optimus sat down next to her. She just wanted someone to be there with her. He could do that.

They sat in silence for a little while. Chromia kept glancing over at him before finally asking, "Does it hurt?"

Optimus smiled, "A little, yes."

Chromia smiled back, "Good." Chromia looked at her fist and then mocked like she was punching him again, the backs of her fingers lightly brushing the side of his face-plates where she got him. "I'm feeling a little better now."

Optimus chuckled at that. It never ceased to amaze him how much Chromia and Ironhide were just alike. Throwing a good punch in someone's face always made Ironhide feel better too.

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Chromia was at the end of what she could tolerate and Ratchet knew it all too well. However, he was doing the best he could.

It had been an Earth year since he discovered the spark of life within Ironhide's remains. That was not long by Cybertronian measurements of time, but it felt longer to Chromia. Her sense of the passage of time was skewed by the condition of her mate coupled with the rising and falling of the Earth sun each day, which rose and fell way more often than the distant stars near Cybertron. That made it seem like the time was stretching out longer than it really was. All things considered, Ratchet was making record time.

Rebuilding an entire adult Cybertronian frame was usually not that complicated of an endeavor. However, rebuilding an entire adult Cybertronian frame on a planet that lacked the materials a medic needed to do so made things a little more challenging. Ratchet had spent the better part of the past Earth year procuring the resources he needed. He would have no problem building the frame once he had what he needed, but getting what he needed was taking time.

Even though it was a challenge, Ratchet was somewhat happy to be starting from scratch. Ironhide's old frame was notoriously hard to find parts for. He had mentioned reformatting several Earth years before, but Ironhide had also been fond of his sturdy old frame, proud of its reliability, even if things like his optic were too out of date to be replaced. The mech had rather have been blind in that optic than reformat into an entirely new body.

The optic wasn't the only part that he had troubles with that Ratchet couldn't find a spare of, though. Ironhide had hip problems, elbow problems, an ankle strut that had been repaired so many times that it simply remained broken, and he even sometimes had trouble transforming. As awful as it was that Ironhide lost his old frame entirely, his quality of life was going to be so much better with a brand new one. It was also better on his medic, as it was so much easier to build a brand new frame, even with the challenges to gather the resources needed, than it actually was to maintain Ironhide's old frame.

Optimus used the Matrix to boost Ironhide's spark and bring it to full strength. They then placed it in one of the Decepticon spark casings that the Wreckers had given him. Ratchet doubted that both Ironhide and Chromia would appreciate Ironhide having a Decepticon spark casing, but he doubted they appreciated Ironhide being dead even less. He decided that he would never divulge any information on where Ironhide's new parts were coming from, but he knew he'd never stop talking about how much easier a new frame was to maintain. Every now and then, Ratchet stopped what he was doing to tell Ironhide's spark that.

The spark did nothing but sit there and glow, but as long as it was doing that, Ratchet was happy. He just had to make sure Chromia was hanging in there and he knew Ironhide's spark would hang in there too.

Ratchet had gotten several spare parts from donations from the other Autobots and the Wreckers kept coming in with parts he thought were coming from the wreckages of Decepticon ships. It wasn't going to be enough, so he knew he was going to have to use numerous Earth metals. The Earth metals were substandard for Cybertronian armor, but he figured that once it was all melted down then the ship alloy would make the frame strong enough.

Ratchet asked the Wreckers to bring in more, but it was hard to obtain in good quality. Ratchet couldn't use parts that had been burned or corroded in any way and most of the Decepticon ships were damaged beyond any help, with very little metal that remained in good condition...

Ratchet's comm beeped and he answered, "Hello, Will."

William Lennox had been a big help in procuring the Earth metals that Ratchet wanted. The human used every bit of power and persuasion that he had, calling in long-overdue favors from friends in the military to finding ways to reallocate resources from different government agencies. As soon as he found out that Ironhide was alive and that all that was needed was a frame to house that life, Will was beside himself with elation. He then tirelessly set to work to help Ratchet get whatever he needed, and tireless the human was...

"I was able to get the lutetium you needed, but I'm still having trouble getting all that wire," Will started.

A Cybertronian frame required several tons of wire to conduct power through it, not to mention the electronics involved, which would be astounding to a human. Ratchet needed every kind of wire he could get, especially platinum, gold, and copper, all of which were expensive. There was an abundance of these metals on Cybertron, but not on Earth.

"It's hard to get when I can't tell anyone why I need enough wire to power a small town," Will continued, chuckling despite himself. "I'm going to call the Rapid Capabilities Office at the Pentagon. They're the only ones that know the details of our involvement with the aliens...er...with you guys," Will amended, remembering he was talking to Ratchet, one of the aforementioned aliens. "So, maybe they can make something happen pretty quickly."

"Thank you, Will," Ratchet said. "Chromia will appreciate 'quickly.'"

Will could not imagine what it was like for Chromia, but he had a wife and he tried to understand as best as he could. He kept Chromia in mind every time he asked for something he knew was going towards Ironhide's frame. It motivated him to demand a time table for each thing and then to say he needed it in less than the time table that was always given.

As he continued to talk to Will, Ratchet finalized the designs he had for Ironhide's new frame with the resources they were able to obtain.

Ratchet's comm beeped again. This time, it was Chromia.

"Hello, Chromia. I need you to..." Ratchet started before being interrupted.

"Please don't tell me you need me to be patient because you need more time. I don't think my spark can take it," Chromia spoke over him.

Chromia sounded tired. Her usual sarcasm was gone, replaced with a weariness that meant she truly was at the end of what she could take.

Ratchet was happy to share with her the news he was about to share, "I was going to say that I need you to come to the med bay. I have the final designs for Ironhide's frame."

There was silence on the other end for a long moment and then, "Well, that's _something_."

Ratchet laughed. _There_ was that sardonic attitude Chromia was known for.

88888

When Chromia walked in the med bay, she stopped, the expression on her face unreadable at first and then turning into what Ratchet would have called relief.

A holo-emitter in the middle of the floor projected a life-size, full body, three dimensional image of Ironhide's new frame. Chromia approached it slowly and just as slowly walked around it, her optics taking in every detail from head to foot. Ratchet watched her with a soft smile on his face.

"This is nowhere near as big as he was," Chromia said after a moment.

Ratchet knew Chromia too well to be insulted by anything she said. The expression on her face as she stared up into Ironhide's faceplates was reward enough for his efforts. Ratchet's soft smile broadened.

"This is all I can do. He liked trucks, so if he wants to go with the same kind of make, he will be big enough to scan something like a GMC Sierra," Ratchet said.

Not taking her optics off of Ironhide's faceplates, Chromia said halfheartedly, "A Sierra isn't nearly as big as a Topkick."

It was clear by her tone that she didn't really care what Ironhide's size was, but Ratchet explained anyway, "We can't make him any bigger; we don't have the resources. These are the designs I have for him with the resources we can get. We're still waiting on wire as it is. At least he won't be a mini bot by far..."

Chromia reached up to touch Ironhide's face, her hand ghosting through the image as it came into contact with it. Ratchet had done a good job recreating Ironhide's facial design, minus the scarring that Ironhide always had from the moment she first met him. She brought her hand back down over her spark.

"He looks so...pristine...perfect..." she intoned softly. In fact, he looked too perfect. It was a little disconcerting, but not as disconcerting as him not being there with them at all.

Ratchet felt the same way. Ironhide had been a rough and tumble warrior with numerous scars to prove it. Him looking so new felt strange. He couldn't damage a new frame to try and recreate old injuries and scars, though.

"I'm sure he'll have it dinged up in no time," Ratchet said. He then lightly placed a hand on Chromia's shoulder. "We're going to have to accept that there may be some things different about him."

Chromia slowly nodded her head. His frame was going to be different. What mattered was his spark and CPU. The next major hurtle once the frame was built was placing the spark. There was a small chance the spark would reject the frame. It was a rare thing for a spark to reject a frame, but possible when reformatting a Cybertronian.

Then there was the CPU download. The CPU could end up with glitches. That was the main thing Chromia was worried about. It was the main thing Ratchet was worried about too. He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

Chromia did not want to be there when Ratchet placed the spark. She knew it was unlikely, but she didn't know what she'd do if Ironhide's spark rejected the frame. There was nothing that could be avoided with the CPU download. They wouldn't know of any glitches until after Ironhide was online, some of which, if any, may not show up for orns.

Ratchet sensed Chromia's fears and said, "You don't have to be here for the spark placement, you know. But, I do need you close by. He'll need the strength of your bond when he comes online."

Chromia slumped against Ratchet, as if her legs could not longer hold her weight. Her earlier denial finally gave way to doubt.

"What if this doesn't work?" she asked weakly, her fear and concern tangible.

Ratchet held her close, offering any comfort he could provide. "How does his spark feel?"

"He's not going anywhere," Chromia said, her tone somewhat threatening, as if intimidation was all that was needed to keep Ironhide's spark strong.

Ratchet smiled, as confident as ever, "This is going to work, Chromia."

8888


	3. Reboot

(posted Aug. 13, 2011) (Long AN: you can scroll down to the clearly marked start of the chapter)

Thanks to all the amazing **REVIEWERS** of ch. 2: **Bluebird Soaring, ChocoKoko, FunkyMonkey19, JeanieLee, ALIENmantis, TransformersLover95, Shizuka Taiyou, Faecat, Daklog73, FlowerCrazy, anon, anon, AutobotSyds643, flamingmarsh, Flameshield, Amai Seishin-Hime, LadyJet2, Nurisiliel, Bluejay, Violetlight **and** KB!**

Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts, encouragements, wishes, questions, and criticisms. Many thanks also for all the faves and alerts!

**NOTE 1**: There were a lot of reviewers that lamented that Ironhide would be smaller. I don't know why, but I didn't anticipate that sentiment, LOL! It sucks that Ironhide died, of course, yet it's also hard to accept him if he's changed (not that anyone wasn't accepting of a changed Ironhide, but I can see why his possible new size came up a few times).

I wrote it this way because I didn't think it would be realistic that Ironhide be exactly the same (not that any of this is remotely realistic, but still.). Resources would be an issue. Also, the Topkick has been discontinued and may be one of the reasons they killed Ironhide. The Hummer has been discontinued as well, but Ratchet is a heavily modified unique Hummer so I guess they felt they could keep him alive and just change his paint job. (Of course, they killed Que, but work with me here. :P)

I wanted to find a vehicle make that isn't in danger of being discontinued in the future. The GMC Sierra has been a stable GM vehicle for quite some time. It is smaller than the Topkick, but still has that look about it, and Ironhide could be a 2500 heavy duty series Sierra, which isn't really that terribly much smaller than the 4500 series Topkick. (Ironhide was the 4500 series, not the 6500 series)

The HD2500 Sierra and the H2 Hummer are comparable in size and weight, though I do think that this may make Ironhide at least a foot shorter than Ratchet. That still makes him way taller than everyone else, other than Optimus. He was two feet taller than Ratchet before, so a foot shorter than Ratchet now means he's only three feet shorter than he was (which, when you're talking about 22 versus 25 feet, then it's not that terribly much of a difference). Ironhide would probably notice, but like Ratchet says, at least he won't be a mini bot by far. :P

The main point of the story is that Ironhide be alive. Chromia might be a little over-dramatic about him not being 'nearly as big,' but she's been through a lot, poor femme. Otherwise, Ironhide looks exactly the same (minus the scars). And if you think about it, he's only been a Topkick for a very small portion of his very long life. There were no Topkicks on Cybertron.

However, a new vehicle mode and his size (other than a small ending) aren't mentioned again (since that's not the main purpose of this story), so if you want Ironhide to be the same size and a Topkick, then it's perfectly fine to think of him as that while reading this last chapter. *smiles

**NOTE 2**: I noticed in DOTM that Ironhide didn't seem to have his legendary cannons. Even the new toys seem to be lacking those. There are smaller cannons on the Leader class toy, but they don't seem to be representative of the same cannons we see him with in the first and second movies. I wanted to make a note of that, because I think I know what happened to his original monstrous cannons and I include that in this chapter. We also see Wheeljack giving Ironhide weapons in DOTM and Ironhide seems to be grumbling about them because he's probably still very sore about losing his prize cannons. Whatever the real situation, this story is AU and I'm simply giving my take on it. Enjoy!

Ironhide: Reboot

Chapter 3

Reboot

by Litahatchee

Warmth...

That's what he felt. A caressing warmth...A sense of belonging...to someone, with someone...A half of the whole of who he was...with just enough edge to it all that set his circuits ablaze.

He felt..._her._

He hesitated, not certain if what he felt was what it was and, yet, very certain that it was exactly what it was. How could he be feeling this? His processor indicated that his sparkmate was too far away. It couldn't be...

Yet, the presence was so prominent in his spark that he thought she might be right there next to him. She seemed to have been holding on to his spark for quite some time. He felt an urging need, a persistent pull. It was warm and caressing, but there was an urgency behind it that compelled him to reach out to it, to explore it.

His bond with his sparkmate erupted in emotion, following by a relief so immense that he fell into it. He pulled away, convinced he would drown if he didn't.

He was confused. He couldn't bring himself to believe what he was feeling in his spark. Everything in his memory indicated that the only cause of that sensation was so far away he shouldn't be able to feel it at all. It was like his spark was trying to tell him something, though. It was something his spark already knew too well, but his processor wasn't matching up. He knew he should trust his spark, but his mind said it was impossible. He must have been stuck in some kind of dream-like state.

Still confused, he reached back...and found exhaustion overlying the relief. He tugged at the exhaustion, urging it to come rest with him, wishing with all his spark that this was real. The only thing he'd trust at this point were his optics. If he could see her with his own optics, then he'd believe it.

Thinking about his optics, he realized they were closed and that he was laying down. He was so focused on his spark that he didn't think about where his was or what he was doing. He found he couldn't remember what he had been doing before becoming conscious now, even.

Out of impulse, he checked his chronometer, and paused. The date and time it said it was was not the date and time his CPU said it was. He frowned at that and then decided he'd have to see Ratchet about a possible glitch.

He unshuttered his optics and at once everything seemed too bright and too...something. He couldn't quite place what it was.

He cycled down the brightness and realized exactly what else was different. Everything seemed too sharp, too in focus. In fact, he could see very very well.

He knew immediately that he was in a med bay, though it was a little different than the one he remembered, but he was so fascinated by how well he could see that he couldn't stop staring at the ceiling. He could see all kinds of details and imperfections etched into the ceiling that he never usually paid what could be on a ceiling any mind.

His optics focused and unfocused, irising in and out as he looked at small bumps and cracks and paint flaking off here and there. It wasn't a pretty thing to look at, but he still couldn't stop staring. He came to the realization that his blind optic had been replaced. He briefly wondered where the medic found the spare optic, yet he felt like he could see even better with his undamaged optic as well. In fact, he couldn't remember being able to see this well since he was first brought online countless vorns ago.

Suddenly, Ratchet's head popped into his field of vision. He immediately noticed more details on the medic's face than he remembered ever being able to see. He shuttered and unshuttered his optics again as they cycled over the details, simply staring. It was as if he was seeing Ratchet for the first time.

"Welcome back to the living," Ratchet said, a small smile gracing his face-plates.

That was a weird thing for the medic to say, he thought, before being completely surprised as Ratchet placed his hand on his chest-plating, right over his spark. The medic's hand was warm, an affection behind it that caught him off guard. It was odd that the medic show such concern. He got a sense that something had scared the medic half to death and he felt compelled to place his hand over Ratchet's. He didn't know what he was reassuring the medic for, but he felt he ought to reassure him. Ratchet was one of his oldest friends.

"What is your designation?" Ratchet asked next.

He continued to stare at Ratchet, confusion evident on his features. Ratchet seemed to misread that confusion, the medic's expression indicating that Ratchet feared the worst. He had no idea what that fear could be, however.

"Are you okay, Ratchet?" he asked, his voice somewhat cautious. He wasn't sure what to think of this strange behavior and the question seemed ludicrous to him. Didn't Ratchet know his name?

'Well, at least he knows _my_ name,' Ratchet thought before saying, "I need to make sure you remember your designation."

Oh, now he got it. Ratchet seemed to know his name. The medic just wanted to see if _he_ knew his name, which only confused him even more. He never woke up in the med bay before with the medic wanting to make sure he knew his own name. That wasn't any kind of standard procedure that he recalled. Of course he knew his own name. Didn't most patients that had undergone routine maintenance or part replacements remember their own names? That wouldn't be good if everyone forgot their designation after such benign procedures...

He thought for a moment, uncertain as to why he was in the med bay to begin with; wasn't he there just for a routine replacement? It seemed his optics had been replaced...which was routine enough and certainly not cause for him to forget his designation or anything about who he was, for that matter.

Instead of answering, though, he said, "What is there to remember? I haven't forgotten it."

'Stubborn to the last;_ that's_ intact,' Ratchet thought sardonically to himself. He then insisted, a little too sternly, "What is your name?"

"Okay, okay, don't blow a fuse...I'm Ironhide." Ironhide continued to look at Ratchet in confusion, but the medic expelled air in obvious relief. He seemed just as relieved as the feeling in Ironhide's spark, which compounded Ironhide's confusion since he shouldn't be feeling his sparkmate bond at all.

Ironhide looked around, hoping beyond hope that perhaps his sparkmate was standing there somewhere. He saw two other mechs in the room with them, but he didn't pay them any attention in his disappointment at knowing that neither one of them was Chromia.

What the frag was going on, anyway?

Ratchet glanced up at the other two mechs when Ironhide started looking around. Ironhide didn't seem to see them and didn't say anything at all to them.

Wheeljack was there to assist Ratchet and had stepped out of the way when Ironhide first became conscious. Sideswipe was there as well, because he insisted that he be there when his mentor come online and he didn't leave any room for Ratchet to argue. Ratchet allowed it only as a precaution, just in case he needed the extra hands in case anything went wrong.

Bumblebee probably would have insisted that he be there too, but he hadn't made it back from a trip with Sam. He was on his way, though. Optimus had planned to be there and was originally supposed to be Ratchet's extra set of hands, but an emergency meeting came up with the humans and they insisted he be at that meeting. Optimus regretted that, but he commed Ratchet just about every joor to see what the status was. The others were just waiting, milling around, keeping themselves distracted.

Ratchet commed Chromia about Ironhide's status even more frequently than Optimus asked about it. So far, she hadn't responded to him at all, but she was close by and he knew she was getting the messages. He figured that she would come in when she was ready.

Ratchet ran several scans while Ironhide tried to recall why he was there. The medic didn't say anything else, concentrating on running diagnostics of Ironhide's systems. Ironhide almost asked Ratchet about his glitchy chronometer when he suddenly remembered what he was doing there.

Ironhide's optics widened and his spark skipped in fear of an age-old phobia he had...

"Did you get it all?" Ironhide asked, sitting up abruptly.

Ironhide's sudden movement, along with the concern in his voice, made Ratchet stop what he was doing and look at him.

"All of what?" Ratchet asked as he placed a calming hand on Ironhide's chest and eased the mech back down onto the berth. Ironhide didn't resist, but it was plainly obvious he wasn't going to calm down very easily, even if he was lying down.

"The rust," Ironhide said, as if it was obvious, and then looked towards his feet.

Ratchet's spark jolted in his chest. He wasn't sure what to say. Ironhide was probably going to need some psychiatric treatment after the horrible way he lost his previous frame. The fact that it was Sentinel Prime that did it, a bot that Ironhide admired and idolized, was going to be even worse on Ironhide's mental state. However, Ratchet didn't think it would come up so quickly. After spending most of his time and worry into bringing Ironhide back, he wasn't prepared to deal with the fallout just yet.

The other two in the room shifted uncomfortably. Ironhide still hadn't paid them much attention at all, barely even sparing them a glance.

"The rust..." Ratchet started, each word coming out slowly as he tried to figure out what he was going to say about it.

"Yea, in my foot," Ironhide interrupted, gesturing towards his feet, but remaining reclined.

Ratchet narrowed his optics in suspicion. He was beginning to think that Ironhide was talking about something else, something that happened early in their arrival on Earth, and completely unrelated to what Sentinel did.

"Just your foot?" Ratchet ventured, trying to place which time-frame Ironhide's concern about rusting came from.

"What do you mean? Just my foot?" Ironhide stated more than asked, incredulous that Ratchet would infer that a rust infection in 'only' his foot be insignificant. "My entire foot, Ratchet." That seemed pretty significant to Ironhide.

The others shuffled a little nervously. Ironhide's whole body was just rusted away and he was only concerned with his foot?

"What happened to it?" Ratchet ventured cautiously as he brought up several memory files on the many times that Ironhide had come to him with rusty parts. The Weapons Specialist had been frightened by the rust every single time and Ratchet was glad that he hadn't thought of Ironhide's phobia before now. His spark would not have been able to take it. Maybe that was partly why Chromia did not want to see Ironhide's broken down frame. Her spark would not have been able to even fathom that tragic irony.

Ratchet thought he had the exact case pin-pointed as Ironhide sat up again.

"What do you mean, what happened to it?" Ironhide said, wondering if there was a glitch in the medic's processor. "The human youngling's rodent lubricated on it. It started rusting, just like I thought it would. You said you could get it all out."

Ironhide wiggled his toe plating where the Earth animal had sprayed fluids all over him. He stared at his plating for a moment. Something seemed a little different, not much different, but enough to give him pause. He wiggled his toe plating again as he continued to watch his feet. He couldn't figure out if it was because he was able to see more details in his foot now than he had been able to before his optic replacement, or if something was actually different about his foot...

"You didn't replace my entire foot, did you?" Ironhide asked, somewhat offhandedly.

Ironhide sounded strangely thoughtful as he began to realize what it was about his feet that was different; they looked _new_. All the scratches, dents, and paint scrapes he'd acquired over the vorns were completely absent.

Ironhide optics tracked upwards as he began noticing the same 'newness' of his legs, torso, arms...He looked at his hands, palms first, and then turned them over to look at the back of them.

He could see...His feet were new...Everything else seemed to be new too...

Ironhide let himself fall noisily back down on the berth, flat on his back as he stared at the ceiling. "Frag, I've been reformatted."

It was quiet in the med bay for a long moment. No one moved or said anything, each one lost in his own thoughts.

"Did my frame finally give out?" Ironhide broke the silence.

"You could say that," Sideswipe said, unable to keep quiet any longer.

Ironhide looked around for his sparkmate again. He was missing something, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. She must still be as far away as his memory indicated. They had not been reunited. He hadn't seen her since the search for the AllSpark began vorns before. He still wasn't sure why his chronometer was so off. His memory core indicated that it was nearly seven Earth years _earlier_ than the date his chronometer told him it was.

Ignoring that statement and who it came from, too disappointed that his spark was playing a cruel trick on him to pay attention to anyone else but Ratchet, Ironhide kept talking, "I thought I had at least a few more vorns with that frame, even with the rusty foot." Ironhide fell silent for a moment and then, "I hope you didn't reuse that alloy in my new frame."

Ratchet was both insulted and dumbfounded. He would never reuse metal that had rust in it, but it was obvious Ironhide had no idea what had happened to him. The incident with Sam's dog lubricating on his foot happened several Earth years before, when they first landed. Again, Ratchet was glad that he didn't think of Ironhide's rust phobia before now. Ironhide himself would blow several circuits if he remembered losing his entire frame to it.

"You don't know what happened?" Sideswipe spoke up again, voicing what they had all come to realize.

Ironhide didn't seem to hear the question as he looked over his arms. He twisted one around to look at the forearm. "Where are my cannons? Were they lost too?"

The others in the room exchanged glances. Ratchet was becoming concerned that Ironhide was ignoring the others because maybe he didn't know them.

"You lost your cannons during the battle in Egypt," Sideswipe said.

In fact, he ejected them to save his own life as he fled from the explosions. After the loss, he modified some things for himself, but he was never happy with the modifications. When Wheeljack arrived, he made new weapons for Ironhide as well. However, Ironhide always felt that those were substandard. But, it was hard to find parts to make cannons like that again; they were one of a kind.

"Egypt? What planet is that?" Ironhide asked.

Suddenly, a yellow streak rushed through the med bay doors, jumped on Ironhide's berth, and crushed him in a hug.

Ironhide laughed, he couldn't help it. "Well, hello there, Bumblebee."

He hugged the little mech back and then Bumblebee slid off the berth, nodding and twittering in embarrassment. Ironhide looked at him, wondering just what in the Pit was going on. It was just a routine reformat...Wasn't it? He didn't remember arranging it, though...

Ratchet was relieved that Ironhide definitely knew Bumblebee.

Ironhide finally looked at Sideswipe, even though Sideswipe had spoken several times, and something seemed to register. "When did you get here, Sideswipe?"

"I've been in here the whole time," Sideswipe stated, somewhat irritably.

"I think he means, when did you arrive on this planet," Ratchet said quietly to Sideswipe, happy to learn that Ironhide did seem to know them all, but realizing that there was definitely some memory missing.

"And is that Wheeljack?" Ironhide looked at the other mech in the room. "Primus, mech, what did you do to yourself? You look hideous." Ironhide paused. "Did I say that out loud? Must be a glitch..."

For the life of him, Ironhide could not remember when Sideswipe and Wheeljack had arrived on Earth. The last time he remembered seeing them was back on Cybertron, before the search mission for the AllSpark began. That was vorns before. As far as Ironhide could remember, he and the AllSpark search team had just arrived on Earth themselves, so he wasn't sure how these Autobots got there so fast, much less how they knew to get there since Optimus hadn't actually told anyone where they were yet.

Ratchet scanned Ironhide for any possible glitches. The Weapons Specialist seemed to be more vocal with his thoughts. The true nature of Ironhide's spark was always to be dead honest. Over the course of his long life, he had learned to control voicing his blunt honesty. Ratchet guessed that that had broken down. All things considered, that was not a bad glitch to have.

It got quiet again and Ironhide realized that everyone was staring at him. He shifted a little under their gazes.

"What's going on?" Ironhide asked. "You all look as if Megatron came back from the dead or something."

Ah, so Ironhide knew Megatron had died at some point, Ratchet thought to himself. He got the distinct impression, however, that Ironhide was speaking of Megatron's first death at Mission City. Ratchet then shook himself, thinking about how absurd it was to think of Megatron has having experienced more than one death.

"Well..." Sideswipe dragged the word out, unsure how to proceed from there.

Ironhide looked around and saw that Optimus was not there. Immediately assuming that everyone seemed so glum because... "Oh Primus, Optimus died, didn't he?"

There was a collective exclamation of "Um..." from just about everyone in the room. Wheeljack even scratched the back of his head, glancing away as if that was, indeed, a fact.

Ironhide shuttered his optics and squeezed his fists to them as his spark cried out in sorrow. "Oh Primus!" he exclaimed. He felt his bond with his sparkmate come to life, which only made his spark cry out even more. He was so confused, but losing Optimus was devastating to their cause, not to mention devastating to him. Aside from Ratchet, Optimus was his best friend.

"What are we going to do if Shockwave shows up with the entire Decepticon army?" Ironhide was able to get out, composing himself in front of the other Autobots.

"Er..." Bumblebee made the noise, but was interrupted by Sideswipe.

"Sentinel Prime...He..." Sideswipe began, but Ratchet placed a halting hand on his shoulder.

Ironhide sat up straight, his spark erupting in excitement and hope. "Sentinel is here?" If they had found the Ark and the old Prime, then all was not lost. What a glorious day it would be to see Sentinel Prime again.

Ratchet patted Ironhide's hand, "Optimus is fine, Ironhide." Optimus had, indeed, died, but what Ironhide didn't remember wasn't going to hurt him. Maybe it was best that he didn't remember that particular detail. Ratchet glared at Sideswipe. "And Sentinel is still gone." It was a true statement. Even though they had Sentinel's frame and he had been with them for a short while, he was still just as gone as Ironhide thought he was.

Ironhide was relieved to hear that Optimus was okay, but at the same time he was disappointed that the age old mystery of what happened to Sentinel Prime and the Ark was still unanswered. He shook his head. What kind of emotional up and down was this? Ever since he woke up, he'd been bombarded with good and bad news, confusing signals in his spark, confusing sentiments from his fellow Autobots; even his medic was acting strangely. Being able to see so well was great, but he wasn't sure if his spark could handle much more of these uppers and downers.

Ironhide suddenly laughed. "Primus, what are you trying to do to me? Next thing you're going to tell me is that I have a Decepticon spark casing."

Ratchet's vents seemed to catch at that, and he cleared them with a quick coughing noise. Luckily, Ironhide did not take that as a hint.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Ratchet asked after a moment, changing the subject.

"I remember that a human killed Megatron, a youngling at that, using the...Primus, the AllSpark is gone, isn't it?" Ironhide said. By this point, he really thought his spark was just going to burst at any moment.

There was silence in the room again. Ratchet wasn't sure whether it was about the loss of the AllSpark, or Ironhide's lack of knowledge of what had transpired in the years following Megatron's demise, his first demise at Mission City...or both. Considering Ironhide's long life, what was missing in his memory wasn't that much, but a lot of significant things had happened since their arrival on Earth.

Right at that moment, Chromia stepped into the room. Ironhide became stock still. He took in every detail of her with his new optics. She was a vision to behold. Was this an apparition? His optics, just like his spark, were playing tricks on him; they had to be.

Ironhide glanced over at Sideswipe and Wheeljack. They were there, so she had to be there as well; she had to be just as real as they were. He just couldn't place when any of them had gotten there. He would have known when his sparkmate arrived on Earth. That would definitely not have escaped his notice.

Ironhide thought about it. Perhaps there wasn't anything wrong with his chronometer at all. Perhaps he really was missing a few Earth years. Perhaps the thing that he should not be trusting was his CPU... Was he really missing seven Earth years worth of memory, though?

Ratchet scanned Ironhide. The mech hadn't moved, his optics intent on his sparkmate, but he was completely silent. Even the natural whirring of his systems seemed to have fallen silent. Ratchet was afraid his systems had stalled. Ratchet next realized that, to Ironhide, it was the first time he saw his sparkmate since their separation way back on Cybertron before the AllSpark Mission began.

"I can't believe my optics, it's really you," Ironhide said.

Ironhide couldn't believe his spark before, thinking that all he'd need to believe she was there was to see her, but now he wasn't believing that either, even though he could see her better than ever. Suddenly, he had to touch her. Perhaps if he could see and feel her with his spark and his own two hands, then he'd believe she wasn't an apparition.

"Okay, everybody out," Ratchet said matter-of-factly. He then turned to Chromia and quietly said to her, "Take all the time you need." Chromia had come to despise that word, but he figured she wouldn't mind it so much now.

"We'll fill you in, old pal," Sideswipe said as they all left the room. "It's just good to have you back."

Ironhide and Chromia simply stared at each other for several long moments after everyone was gone. Ironhide ignored everything in his mind that said she wasn't there, trusting his spark fully as they reached out to each other through their bond.

Ironhide stood up, briefly noticing that his new frame was just as stable as his previous one, and walked over to her. They gazed into each other's optics for several more moments, Ironhide believing that this was the first time he had seen her in vorns and Chromia seeing him for the first time since Sentinel's devastating blow. They embraced, but it was for two different reasons; Chromia in relief that he was alive and Ironhide in celebration of finally being reunited with his sparkmate.

Chromia keened loudly against him and banged her fists against his chest plating in anger and frustration. Ironhide let her; he could take it. Her anger was not directed at him. He could tell from her spark that she had been through a lot of something recently. He didn't know what it was, but he let her know through his own spark that he was there for her.

"Don't ever do this to me again," Chromia said.

Her voice was not accusing, but Ironhide thought she was talking about the amount of time they had been apart. When he left on the AllSpark search mission, neither one of them realized how long he was going to be gone. It was excruciating being without her for so long.

"I'm never leaving your side," he assured her. "Not even a Prime could separate us again."

The irony of his words made Chromia smile despite the awful truth. Ironhide was just so damn tough. He truly believed that he could control his own destiny. Yet it was, indeed, a Prime that had effectively separated them for the last Earth year.

Chromia reached up and caressed his too-perfect, but still magnificent, face plating. Maybe it was best that he not know what happened to him.

The great Sentinel Prime was found; Ironhide nearly worshiped him himself. He came back to them, only for them to find out that he made a deal with Megatron. He betrayed them, mercilessly shot Ironhide in the back, with a rust-inducing weapon at that. Ironhide's worst nightmare was to rust...Chromia shivered.

No, it was best that he not know, Chromia thought to herself. He would never believe her anyway.

Chromia cupped his face in both of her hands and he leaned his forehead down onto hers. Ironhide wanted nothing more than to lay her down on the berth and crush his spark into hers, but he could tell through their bond that something was a little off.

"I'm missing something, aren't I?" Ironhide said after exploring the feeling.

Chromia could no longer make optic contact with him and bowed her head against his chest plating.

"We thought we had lost you," she said into his chest, her voice quiet and small.

Ironhide could feel the sorrow and conflict within Chromia's spark. She gripped him tighter, as if doing so would mean she would never lose him again. Ironhide pulled her to himself in return, feeling the need to join with her more than ever. She didn't tell him how he had been injured, but it must have been bad if Ratchet had to reformat him. Now he understood why Ratchet was so emotional when he first woke up, and why Bumblebee was so excited to see him. He couldn't imagine what Chromia herself must have gone through. He couldn't imagine how hard it would have been if their situations were reversed.

Ironhide now knew that his chronometer wasn't off. "How long have I been out?" he asked. As he had already determined before, the amount of time discrepancy between his memory core and his chronometer was seven Earth years.

"One Earth cycle," Chromia answered.

So he had been out of commission for a year, by this planet's time standards. That did not explain what had happened to the other six...

"How long have I been on this planet?" Ironhide asked next.

"Seven Earth cycles," Chromia said.

It was becoming clear to Ironhide that he and Chromia had already been reunited. It was apparent that he and her had fought together on this planet even. He just no longer had any memory of it. He must not have updated his memory core within hers since her arrival, but it did appear that he did update it at least once since she'd been there. The time on this planet was so short that he wouldn't have felt the need or desire to update it more than once during the seven Earth years that he was obviously missing.

"And when did you arrive?" Ironhide asked.

"Five Earth cycles ago."

Well, that explained five Earth years of the missing time. Ironhide wasn't sure why he was missing seven Earth years because he, well, didn't have any memory of why he would have left out two additional Earth years. He wasn't sure, but he might have been missing more memory. There wasn't anything he could do about it now, though. All he really wanted to do right now was join with his mate.

Ironhide caressed Chromia's face, smiling softly at her as he brushed his mouth-plating across hers. "Okay," he said. "We'll just move on from here."

8888888888

Ratchet left the med bay to give Ironhide and Chromia some time to themselves. He ran into Optimus on his way out as Optimus was on his way in. They quickly fell into a deep discussion about Ironhide's progress.

Ratchet told him that the spark placement went very well and that Ironhide's spark adopted to the frame just fine. There were no complications with the spark placement at all. In fact, it went very smoothly. They discussed the possible glitches, but so far nothing seemed too drastic. However, Ironhide was obviously missing some things from his memory core and Ratchet wasn't sure how far that extended. He wasn't even sure if Chromia would know what was missing.

"He would only remember up to what the last memory was he downloaded into Chromia's CPU anyway." Ratchet was saying. "It's more than likely that he left out a few orns here and there, maybe even those first two Earth years that we were here, because he wouldn't have wanted her to see how much he suffered without her."

Optimus nodded his head in understanding. The most difficult thing for a Cybertronian to bear was to be separated from his or her sparkmate.

"He doesn't know who all has arrived since you sent out the call," Ratchet continued. "I don't even think he remembers you sending out a call. But, he does remember the battle at Mission City. He remembers that Sam used the AllSpark to kill Megatron. I think that's the last memory he has, though."

Ratchet fell silent at that, Optimus taking it all in. Then he continued, "He doesn't know Megatron was brought back. He doesn't know what happened to you." Ratchet couldn't bring himself to say that Optimus had been killed at one point too. "He doesn't know about the Matrix and how Sam used it to bring you back. He definitely doesn't know about Sentinel."

Optimus took in a deep intake of air. He would forever feel guilty about what Sentinel did, even with the unorthodox reminder of how it wasn't his fault from a certain Weapons Specialist's sparkmate.

"Maybe we can fill him in later, when he's ready," Ratchet said. "I don't want to overwhelm him right now. He already seems overwhelmed enough."

Optimus nodded his head again, then thought about the humans. While Optimus was at the conference with them, one certain human that Ironhide had developed a close friendship with kept asking about him.

"What about the Lennox's?" Optimus asked in concern. He didn't want to give Will the go ahead to see Ironhide yet, especially in case there was anything wrong.

Optimus and Ratchet had been walking, and Ratchet stopped. Optimus stopped too, regretting that humans lived such short lives. For Ironhide and the rest of the Cybertronians, what was missing in his memory since their arrival on Earth wasn't a significant amount of time. For a human, however, it was a large amount of time.

"He will know Will," Ratchet explained. "He will remember him from Mission City. He won't remember the rapport he developed with the human, though...and he won't know the family."

Optimus was afraid Ratchet was going to say that. He would have to prepare Will about what Ironhide did and didn't remember before the human saw him again.

"This is Ironhide, though," Ratchet said, hope in his voice. Ironhide did not take just anyone into his spark, but the ones he let in were _in_. "If he liked them once, he'll like them again."

Optimus felt hopeful too. Ironhide did take to the Lennox family very quickly, which was a surprise to all of them. It would be like introducing them to him all over again, but he'd more than likely take to them again just as quickly as he did the first time. That was probably not going to be very comforting for the Lennox's, but he knew they'd be able to accept that. Having Ironhide back was all that mattered.

"Besides, Chromia knows how much they meant to him," Ratchet smiled. "She could download her memories into his and he'd at least know _of_ the relationship. He just won't remember it."

"He'll make new memories, then," Optimus said, a thoughtful smile crossing his features, happy that Ironhide was back with them to make new memories with them all.

8888888888

Ironhide and Chromia lay on the berth, awash in the glow of their sparks, fully exposed to each other. They had joined several times already, reaffirming their bond, relishing in each other's presence. Ratchet peaked in on them every now in then, making sure Ironhide was adopting to his new frame just fine, but he didn't bother them, giving them all the time they needed.

All the time they needed...and took 'all the time' they did, watching the sun rise and fall each day, just losing each other in their bond. As far as Chromia was concerned, they could have forever.

They had won the battle for Earth. They had a home. There was finally a real chance at peace for them.

"Does Ratchet seem taller to you?" Ironhide's voice cut through their sated haze after an evening of spark shattering ecstasy.

For the first time since he saw her, Chromia laughed. Ironhide's spark brightened at the sound, but he didn't see how it was so funny. That fragging medic rebuilt him so that he was shorter than him, he was sure of it. He was even convinced that Ratchet did it on purpose. There was nothing Chromia could say that could convince him otherwise, though she really did try to. She tried to tell him that he wasn't smaller and that Ratchet wouldn't rebuild anyone smaller out of spite. It didn't matter what she said; he just _knew_ Ratchet was messing with him.

Chromia laughed on into the night.

Ironhide was back.

8888

The End


End file.
